How To Shine in 2009 With Video

(This is a guest post by Maria Andros, aka the Video Marketing Queen.  I found her on Twitter (follow Maria @MariaAndros) and know she has incredible passion for teaching others.  Watch for her blog to debut in January - it’ll be in my RSS reader as soon as it’s up!  Also, take her advice *very* seriously, video is only getting stronger and you’ll need to be using it for your business in 2009.)

It’s so awesome of Michelle to have invited me to be a guest on her blog while she’s away on her holiday. I’m honored to be able to share some really cool information with you on how video can make a real difference for you in your business and make you money.

I want to cover what equipment is best, and how to get started, but most importantly why video is so powerful and where the trends are heading.

My intention is for you to really see what most people online are missing when it comes to making videos that convert.

There’s a difference between just uploading a video like most people think, to really creating videos that powerfully move your audience.

The cool thing is that people can feel like they know, like and trust you through your videos.

They say that 90% of communication is non-verbal and that’s why video is almost hypnotic. People can hear you, they can see you and they can feel right away if they connect with you or not.

You can also position yourself as an expert and authority in your niche & market a lot faster than “old school” marketing methods.

You’ve heard that saying a picture is worth a thousand words…

Then imagine what a video’s worth?

What is your video worth?

More and more people are leaving television and coming to get their “quick fix” on places like Youtube. I don’t want you to get left behind and I see way too many people leaving money on the table by not using video in their marketing campaigns.

Consider that according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau more than 50% of the US population will watch video online in 2009. That’s 155 Million people and we’re only talking the US!

Youtube is also the #3 most searched website in the world as per Alexa.com.

Not to mention how you are able to build a highly qualified list and have SEO benefits as well since the search engines absolutely LOVE video.

But before I get into all the good stuff you maybe thinking to yourself…

* What do I say in my videos?
* How can I get my videos viewed and drive traffic to my website?
* Or maybe you feel a bit nervous and don’t know where to start.

Well the good news is that a little over a year and a half ago I was a complete beginner online with no technical knowledge or background.

I only had 2 visitors coming to my website on average per day and I knew I was in serious trouble if I didn’t do something and fast so that people would actually see my website.

Because you can have the best product or service in the world but if no one SEES that amazing product or service it doesn’t make a difference.

I personally did not want to go into pay per click advertising as I had no clue what I was doing at that time and did not want to lose any money in the process.

If you currently have an Adwords campaign that’s great, I’m not knocking it as lots of people do make lots of money with it.  What you want to do is add video to your existing sales funnel to make it even stronger.

Its just that pay per click advertising is not for everyone, especially if you are not seeing profits in your business or are on a budget.

When I was first starting out I was really scared to make videos.

I can remember doing 10-12 takes and my message would start getting diluted. I felt nervous and didn’t know if anyone would take me seriously.

Despite the nerves I kept making videos and learning, testing, tweaking and tracking.

In 2 short months of being a complete beginner online I made $12,987 profit into my business. I couldn’t believe it!

It’s been quite the journey and I still can’t believe how dramatically my life has changed. I now live right on the beach and generate a six figure income from my videos with no advertising costs whatsoever.

Almost 500,000 people have watched my videos and counting and I have helped  many of my students  some who were beginners to make their first $1000 + sales online.

One of my clients had 5 people call her from her videos saying “I love your videos, how do I get started working with you and how much?”

Imagine having people already pre-qualified and ready to go because of your positioning with video.

I am not saying all this to you to brag, I’m humbled by my success and am very thankful to all my loyal viewers and clients. I just want to show you what is possible for you and if this girl originally from Canada could do it then you can too!

It takes passion and seeing the big picture that’s all…

With the speed of technology growing as fast as it is you can’t ignore where video is heading. Just look at how you’re able to now stream live video even from your cellphone.

The mistake I see a lot of people making is not getting started with video because of a fear of rejection or what people might think.

The real truth about video is it’s actually one of the most rejection free marketing methods around as you don’t have to pick up the phone and try to convince someone to buy your product.

It does get easier as you go, I promise you, and you start to feel more confident especially when you develop a bunch of loyal fans that love you and support you.

I also want you to remember that you can never say the wrong thing to the right person.

There are lots of top video sharing sites such as Google video, Myspace video, Vimeo, Daily Motion, and Viddler, to name a few…

When you are creating your videos you want to build a background of relatedness first with your prospects so they don’t have their guard up.

You don’t want to start by talking about your product or service - that comes later…

People are sick and tired of being sold. Remember a time when you knew someone was trying to “sell” you something?

You feel turned off right?

Even if you just do this one thing you will be able to let people get to know you and build that trust factor.

Remember people aren’t buying products, people are buying people and like to buy from people they already like.

My Video Marketing 5 Step Success Formula:

1.      The Welcome

Everyone loves to be welcomed and the more you can smile and be authentic the better. Let them know that you are happy they stopped by and say something like “Hello and welcome to this video.”

(A great tip when you’re filming is to make sure you smile and pretend like you are talking to your best friend or family member).

The more you talk to one person instead of lots of people the more powerful your videos will be.

After you film a really good idea (especially when you’re just starting with video), watch your video with the volume muted and see how many times you smile.  Do you look stressed and uptight or friendly and relaxed?

2.   Share Your Story

Before you get into your opportunity you first need to build a background of relatedness.

Share something about you, where you’re from perhaps, you want to establish credibility here by sharing anything that will make you sound like an authority and why I should listen to you.

3.   What’s in it for Me?

In your videos you also want to make it all about your viewers.

It’s important to build a sense of relatedness first and once you do you want to provide value.

You can teach your viewers something; a how to video usually converts really well.

In this part of the formula you also want to really bring out the problem that your prospect is facing and to offer a solution:

For example if you are a dating coach you can say, “I know what it’s like to not be confident with women. I used to be like that, I was shy, I was awkward and I would just avoid women period to not risk getting rejected …  Until I discovered…”

Marketing is simply being able to explain someone’s problem better than they can explain it themselves and then offering a “solution.”

Here you can share the solution that you found and then go into your product more in detail.

4.Your Irresistible Offer or “Hook”

This is where you can offer your prospect something for free whether it’s a free report, a free audio class, a free video report and share with them what you are going to teach them if they come visit your website.

5. Call to Action

This is often what is missing in most videos that I see online, there is no call to action. As kids we are taught to follow the leader almost like Simon says so you want to let your prospects know what to do next.

This can be simply telling them to go to your website, to give you a phonecall, to add you on twitter, it’s completely up to you.

Video Equipment

Now that we have covered how to create powerful videos let’s look at equipment.

I want to show you what options you have for video cameras and the great thing is they’re all pretty affordable.

I have used everything from a digital camera (Canon Sd 850) to a web cam, video camcorder to a flip camera. If you choose a digital camera, I like to buy a few extra 2-4 gb memory card  just in case as it can be really inconvenient if you are out and about filming and then your card runs out.

I also love the new HD Mino Flip video camera. Its great because you don’t need a memory card , it’s really light and small and you can record for up to 60 minutes. Another cool feature is you can upload directly to Youtube from the camera and many other video sharing sites as well.

If you want your video to look really high quality for a website then you will want to find a professional HD video camcorder and you can set up some bright lights around you to get a nice effect.

I like to teach that you don’t have to have the perfect lighting or cameras to make money with videos.

People love reality shows so it’s not how your video looks so much but your message that’s important! They want to see that you are a real person and if you can show that your viewers will love you!

YouTube Specs

Youtube just changed over to HD so it’s a good idea to convert your videos into a minimum file size of 360 x 640 or for a higher quality 720 X 1280.  It used to be 320 x240 and I feel the videos turn out quite grainy without uploading to the new higher quality size.  You can also now upload videos that are up to 1 GB in size. You used to be only be able to upload videos up to 100 MB before.

Video Editing & Uploading

To edit your video if you have a PC I recommend Windows Movie Maker.

If you have a Mac I like to personally use Imovie to edit & compress my videos.

When uploading  your videos make sure you add some keywords and tags in your description so you can optimize your video and have more views.

I also recommend using a compelling title that is keyword rich.

You can find a list of keywords for your specific niche and use this free tool.

I look forward to you creating your videos and to you taking your business to the next level!

So have fun, and relax making your videos and remember you don’t have to get it right you just have to get it going.

To your video marketing success! Its your time to shine in 2009!

Maria Andros

“The Video Marketing Queen”

Related posts:

1. Video Marketing for Free TrafficUsing video marketing to drive traffic to your web site...
2. Video & YouTube Marketing - 4 Tips from a Stellar ExampleI’ve got a video I want you to watch. It...
3. Top Websites For Sharing Video1. YouTube 2. MySpace Videos 3. Yahoo Video 4. MSN...
4. Video Makes People Buy ThingsVideo makes people buy things. You can tell them all...
5. Marketing Video Review: YouTube Affiliate MarketingI met Brian, the author of the video below, as...

Tagged as: canon sd850, flip mino, imovie, maria andros, video markeitng queen.youtube, video-marketing, windows movie maker